


Broker of Many Things

by lida_sen



Category: Dark Angel (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 18:03:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14454804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lida_sen/pseuds/lida_sen
Summary: Who would have thought that the harsh training she received since her birth would make her the perfect criminal?





	Broker of Many Things

X5-452 (or Max to her family) runs from the tender embrace of Manticore at the age of ten. Jack had a seizure a few days ago, and thanks to one of her secret insomniac strolls the next time she saw him was on the autopsy table.  


Their unit mourns when the trainers don’t see them, then tries to move on. But everything changes when Max, the baby of the unit starts to spasm; and Zack orders the escape. Except for Jace everyone understood that they must leave.  


It’s winter, the temperature is freezing, they are running barefooted in the snow in a thin sleeping gown, but these are minor inconveniences easily ignored. What hurts is the instruction to separate. They lived, trained (and dreamed) as a unit and from now on they have to fare alone.  


They have options, maybe the best of them would be hiding among the street kids in a large city, the absence of records won’t be a problem this way. Their far-from-ordinary skillset will ensure their survival, and even though normal human society still views them as children, living on the streets is far from normal.  


The first step however is leaving Wyoming unnoticed.  


* * *

  
Max leaves the snowy forest behind in a trailer truck, never seen by the driver. She steals clothes and food in Denver, and sleeps in an abandoned building in Kansas City. With a little eavesdropping and stealth, she arrives in New York City a few days after the escape with a full backpack.  


She learned about ordinary humans and obviously saw them during her travel but observing them in New York is an entirely different story. The noise and the smells invade her enhanced senses, the sheer number of people is mind numbing; all in all, it is the perfect hiding place.  


Max adjusts her scarf and cap, effectively concealing her barcode and military style haircut and merges into the crowd. Time to find a new home.  


* * *

  
When you can hear other people’s heartbeat, collecting secrets is easy; and selling secrets is a profitable job, if it’s done wisely. Being on the run from a top-secret military institution meddling in genetic engineering makes one cautious, so Max is okay on that front. Her problem is her age, petty criminals think they can avoid paying because they are bigger and stronger. While it’s not true, she doesn’t want to be known as the kid who beats up adults with her little finger.  


And Max needs the money to buy tryptophan pills or foods rich in tryptophan. Thank the Blue Lady the pills are sold as a popular over-the-counter dietary supplement, so her ex-handlers can’t trace her by buying it.  


Maybe she should hire a grown-up homeless, who would receive a percentage for being the middle man? It might work…  


* * *

  
In the course of two years Max collects enough money with information brokering – and a little bit of Robin Hood styled stealing where she is the poor getting the stolen goods – to buy a (new) identity with Benny-the-middle-man as her father. She has school records and even attends classes in a public school. The lessons are boring, but nobody would suspect cute little Mackenzie Davis and her single dad, Ben of criminal activities.  


Criminal activities, that mostly consist of finding things: data, objects and people. The duo – known as Benny – is famous for their accurate and fast work, silence and reliability, with clients flocking to them even from out of state.  


Benny, who started to live on the streets after the death of his son and the divorce that followed it, teaches her many things her training did not – could not – include. Like the existence of supernatural creatures and how to recognize them. And isn’t it a big surprise, that the Manticore-made supersoldiers are not the apex predators? (Max is a bit curious who would win a vampire-X5 fight, but it’s not something she will ever discuss with Benny.)  


And magic. It’s just… Seriously? Could a witch hide or erase the barcode? Or a vampire could compel the leaders of Manticore. The possibilities…  


* * *

  


Max is thirteen years old when her first vampire client finds her, though it’s not obvious at first. Mr. Smith asks her in his e-mail to find and track the movements of his estranged half-brother (photo attached). It’s almost ridiculously easy to find him but observing him makes his species clear to the teenager’s knowing eyes. Niklaus Mikaelson is a vampire with a pretty high body count. A thorough research later Max gains a new contact called Slater and the knowledge of vampire history and the Original family.  


Why would a thousand-year-old vampire hire someone who specializes in electronic tracking when he knows witches remains a mystery for Max.  


Well. _Pecunia non olet_ (even if exsanguinated corpses do), and Mr. Smith – or Elijah Mikaelson – is called the noble, honorable one; it would be unwise to screw up now. He will be a valuable connection in the future.  


* * *

  
Elijah opens his eyes in a half-lit warehouse, not understanding what happened. His last memory is Klaus stabbing him so waking up alone, without Klaus’ gloating or threats is just unsettling.  


There are two vampires on the ground in front of the door, and he is already standing next to them, examining the bodies before he realizes that the dagger he is so familiar with is in his hand. The guards – and they must have been guards – are knocked out with vervain darts in their neck.  


He blames the disorientation of spending an unknown length of time desiccated that he only spots the other coffins just as he looks around for other clues. He speeds there, ripping them open and releases relived sigh as he sees his siblings. Finn, Kol and Rebekah are really there, and not buried at the sea. It’s one thing to hear it from his brother, and another to see them with his own eyes.  


As he contemplates his next step (Should he wake all of them now or at a secure location? Is it wise to wake Finn after 900 years?), he notices a large cool box between the caskets with a note attached to the top. Elijah opens it warily and is not surprised by the content; whoever pulled out the dagger from his heart was well-prepared to fill it with blood bags for four thirsty vampires.  


Well, it’s time to read the letter.  


* * *

  
Mr. Smith (or Mikaelson),  


I didn’t receive my payment as promised, so I dug around a little. And look what I found!  


Maybe I should add the extra fee of un-daggering my employer and finding his long-lost siblings?  


You can pay the agreed amount with bonus you consider appropriate, or we could meet and have a deal about a favor I need. You know how to contact me.  


_Benny_

  


Intriguing. A man with resources like this – who was able to find them despite Klaus’ paranoid security measures – might prove to be useful in the future.  


* * *

  
After a month with his siblings – reconnecting, teaching them about the 21th century and just enjoying their time together – Elijah finally has time to deal with Benny.  


At his request the meeting takes place in a busy cafe in New York. Elijah sees the appeal, moving with vampire speed in the crowd is problematic, and the neighborhood is full of buildings with security cameras.  


He sits at a table drinking a coffee and holding a newspaper to kill time, while he observes the people around him, trying to guess which of the new customers is Benny. The creaking noise of a chair being pulled turns his attention on the other side of his table. An olive-skinned teenager – not even a high-schooler – with long dark hair sits in front of him, a cheeky smile on her face.  


“Hi Mr. Smith, I hope I’m not late. You may know me as Benny.”  


Elijah is _not_ gaping incredulously. (Yes, he does. She is not lying.)  


* * *

  
The Manticore personnel don’t know what hits them.  


(Kol pouts, because Elijah restricted him to compelling, Finn finds a new purpose in his undead life in helping brainwashed transgenics adjust to civilian life and Rebekah is finally a mother.)


End file.
